Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Full Sent!

It's interesting to send out fulls. Because, quite frankly, partials mean nothing. As do fulls requested off of a query. Because all that really means is that they liked your query. In fact, they have companies that will read your manuscript and write your query for you just to get your foot in the door. So if you hire someone and get fifty requests for partials does that mean you are a better writer or have a better story than someone who only got ten requests?Of course not.What matters, in my not-so-humble opinion, is what they say after they have read your writing. That is why rejections on my query are so easy for me to shrug off. They didn't like the two paragraphs I wrote about my book. So what?But rejections on partials are quite discouraging because it means that they looked through a window into your story and said, "Meh, that really not much of a view," and they turn away.But a request for a full after reading the partial is important. Agents are simply too busy to request the full manuscripts on stories they are not seriously considering representing. They don't ask for fulls just to find out whodunit, or whether the couple is going to get together at the end. They don't care that much. There are too many manuscripts in the world to justify requesting one you are not very seriously interested in.Which, of course, leads the writer--me--to the next obvious conclusion. Nephele is seriously considering representing me. And I admit, it is a bit of a stretch, but not much. Because that is what a request for a full implies. Then, as much as I try not to, I start planning for the future in my mind. What will I say when she calls? Can I have the sequel ready for her to read if she wants to? Where will she submit it first?I did the same thing with Joe. I don't think that way about him anymore because I haven't heard from him. On the other hand . . . I haven't heard a no yet.But with Nephele I have a new piece of white paper to defile with my colorful, child-like hopes. It's far from a done-deal . . . but it's miles up from the slush pile!It's been an interesting few days because I was feeling really, really low the other night and suddenly, with one request for a full, my hopes are resurrected and stronger than ever . . . at least until they deflate over the next few weeks.The phone in our house does this double ring thing if the call is long distance and, quite frankly, I don't know how much longer my poor heart can put up with the drastically increased rate of beating I require from it each time I hear that double ring. But, almost without fail, it is Amy wanting to talk to her mother. (sigh)And the waiting begins again tomorrow. The compulsive e-mail checking, the ears perking up at long-distance rings, obsessively checking Kristin's blog, trying to get some idea of where I stand with her, and, of course, watching for the mail truck. Ahh, the life of a writer. Didn't know it was so glamorous, did you?

1 comment:

Thank you so much for your vulnerability and transparency blogging about the submission process and the journey of getting published. I am in the midst of querying agents now and find it beyond encouraging to find that I'm not the only one who is drowning in the misery of waiting.

I am the #1 New York Times Best-Selling author of the Wings series. My husband and I have four children and live in Glendale, Arizona. Further information, including a calendar of events, is available at my official website.